A terrible burden was placed on Abraham Lincoln on Nov. 19, 1863. He had to explain to a war weary nation why such enormous sacrifices in lives and treasure were continuously required. The Union cause had experienced repeated disasters in 1863 and 1862, in the Eastern Theater, i.e. Virginia, Maryland and briefly Pennsylvania. Yet the volunteer soldiers persevered. The Infamous mud march in January 1863 under Gen. Burnsides command after the fiasco of Fredericksburg almost led to mass dissections, often due to the breakdonw of logistics, medical care, lack of food, loss of confidence in the commanding general. That was followed by the rout of General Hookers army at Chancellorsville in May 1863. After that battle, the Union Army marched all over the roads of Maryland and Pennsylvania, seemingly without purpose. Just three days before the Battle of Gettysburg, Lincoln replaced Hooker with 5th Corps Commander, General George Meade, nicknamed snapping turtle due to his explosive temper. Somehow the disspirited Union Army pulled itself together in 3 days and fought heroically and skillfully at Gettysburg. Just what motivated the Union soldiers to fight so sacrificially July 1 through 3, 1863 after repeated failures of their comanding generals is something of a mystery. Meade was thorough in selecting his defensive position after being thrown back on the first day. The loss of General Reynolds during the opening hours of battle on July 1 was a further blow to the Yankees. A lot of credit goes to General Hancock. He rallied the Yankees every time their enemies broke into their positions, until he himself was wounded grievously. The 20th Maine under Chamberlain fought heroically at key point. No doubt Lincoln had other thingsthan Gettysburg on his mind. Two weeks after Gettysburg, New York City errupted in that citys worst chaos, the draft riots. A regiment had to be sent from Gettysburg to New York to put down the disturbances. In September, the Confederates won a significant victory at Chicamauga, outside Chattanooga, trapping Rosecrans Army in that city, drasticaly short of supplies, and close to starving. For a few months, the best commanders of the Unoin Army, Grant, Sherman and Thomas, worked together to save the Army of the Cumberland in Chattanooga. By November the Union Army in he Western theaters was resurgent. However, Lincoln had to look forward to 1864 when the overwhelming majority of veterans who had enlisted in 1861-62 had their service obligation to the USA expire in early 1864. The war could not be won unless these veterans who had witnessed so many defeats with so much carnage, simply chose to reenlist. That we should take increased devotion to that cause which they who fought here have nobly advanced that government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish. This is simply democratic patriotism. Lincoln understood this democratic patriotism; he expanded upon it to write the best piece of theology ever written in the USA in his Second Inaugural Address.
Posted on: Wed, 20 Nov 2013 05:29:10 +0000
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